Official Languages committee  Errors are rare. The processes are constructed in such a way that, when they do occur, we discover them before the data are released. In this instance, the errors were not discovered before the release. In discharging my responsibilities, I want to ensure that the systematic or

Official Languages committee  The system operates on inputs and outputs. There is an input, and there must be an output, and we already know what the output should be. Normally, in this system, we will check at the output stage to ensure the results appear as they should.

Official Languages committee  The only comment I will make concerns the error itself. As you can see in the presentation, we reacted as quickly as possible, as soon as we knew there was a problem with the data, precisely because we understand the importance of this information for users and communities in Can

Official Languages committee  It depends on the content. If the experts in a certain field are francophone, they will mainly work in French, and that will subsequently be translated into English. If the experts in another field are anglophone, it will be in English and subsequently translated into French.

Official Languages committee  As I explained earlier, every step is systematically reviewed again and again. When we produce a computer program, we ensure that it performs the functions for which it was designed. Similarly, when we design and test questions, we want to ensure that Canadians understand them an

Official Languages committee  In normal circumstances, checks are made at every stage, whether it be the computer systems, the findings, or the production. There are a host of steps, and we usually verify them systematically.

Official Languages committee  For most of the data, no, that has not previously been done. I must say we have a lot of expertise in many of those fields, and the census has not greatly changed over time. We have a great deal of expertise on the various changes in the population from one census to the next, in

Official Languages committee  Precisely.

Official Languages committee  In our last releases, we have called on some of our federal partners, such as departments that have expertise in specific fields. For example, on the housing data we released on October 25, we worked with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, examining the data we were abo

Official Languages committee  Yes, we can do that.

Official Languages committee  Before commenting on what Mr. Boucher wrote, I can give you an answer based on my viewpoint. I am responsible for the census program at Statistics Canada, and this is a dramatic incident for all the people who work on my project. No one is proud of this. We take this very seriou

Official Languages committee  Those closed meetings are in fact not held for the purpose of validating information. They are meetings where certain individuals can obtain the information before others. They are held on the day the data are released, and certain individuals have access to the findings.

Official Languages committee  It was not the system that failed to detect the error. It was the people who tested the system who failed to see it was incorrectly reading the questionnaire.

Official Languages committee  Where a person who completed the French version of the questionnaire indicated English as the spoken language, the system mistakenly read that as though the person had indicated French as the spoken language. The error could affect certain cases in that way.

Official Languages committee  It is 61,000.